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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. prune — to trim
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. court — of law
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. game — a match
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. net — after costs
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — of a king
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com